Most Indian business owners think: “If I make my product better than my competitors, I will win.” So they spend lakhs improving quality and adding features. But then they wonder, why are competitors with average products still doing better?
The truth? Your business strategy is probably wrong.
Why Being “Better” Doesn’t Work
Company A says: “Our car has a 500-horsepower engine with great performance.” Company B says: “Our car has a 600-horsepower engine with even better performance!”
This is how most businesses compete. But here’s the problem: The market doesn’t care about “better.”
When you say you’re better, you’re admitting you’re doing the same thing, just slightly improved. This is not a winning business strategy.
What Smart Businesses Do Differently
The best business strategy is about being different, deliberately giving up something everyone considers essential to create something entirely new.
Example 1: Coffee Shops Traditional shops: Serve quickly, get customers to leave fast. Some chains did the opposite: “Stay as long as you want.” They added sofas, power sockets, free WiFi. They gave up quick turnover to create a “third space.” This business strategy created their own category.
Example 2: Gaming Consoles Companies competed on power, better graphics, faster processing. Then one made a portable console. Less powerful, but completely new experience. Today, it’s one of the world’s best-selling consoles.
The 5 Fatal Business Strategy Mistakes
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Mistake #1: Trying to Be “Better”
The Problem: You start a race you can’t win. There’s always someone cheaper, features get copied, and you compete only on price with thin margins.
What To Do Instead: Stop asking: “How can we be better?” Start asking: “How can we be different?”
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Mistake #2: Thinking Your Product IS Your Strategy
The Problem: Businesses think: “We sell furniture, so we’re in the furniture business.” But your product is just a tool. The real value you deliver, that’s your business strategy.
Luxury fashion brands aren’t selling clothes. They’re selling lifestyle and identity. That’s why they can sell perfumes, watches, and cafes.
What To Do Instead: Ask: “What value do we really deliver?” Your answer should go beyond your product.
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Mistake #3: Starting Marketing Before Strategy
The Problem: Entrepreneurs create a product, order inventory, and start advertising, but skip developing a clear business strategy first. They want everything: low prices, high quality, fast delivery. But strong strategies require sacrifice.
What To Do Instead: Before spending on marketing, decide what makes you different and what you’ll sacrifice.
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Mistake #4: Copying Competitors
The Problem: Businesses see competitors’ success and think: “Let’s do that too, but slightly better!” This is imitation, not a business strategy.
In India, this is especially dangerous: someone can always offer lower prices, and you’re always defending your position.
What To Do Instead: Create your own space. Find what makes you genuinely unique.
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Mistake #5: Not Willing to Sacrifice Anything
The Problem: Every industry has “sacred cows.” Smart businesses sacrifice them deliberately.
Example: The water industry competed on purity and health with peaceful imagery. Then one brand did the opposite: aggressive packaging, rebellious marketing. It worked because they created a position competitors couldn’t copy.
What To Do Instead: Find what everyone considers essential. Then ask: “What if we gave this up?”
How to Create Your Winning Business Strategy
Use this framework:
“We are the only [type of business] who sacrifice [important industry thing] so we can [do something unique] to give customers [specific benefit].”
Example: “We are the only furniture company who sacrifices easy assembly so we can create modular designs that customers can rearrange endlessly.”
How Business Strategy Develops
Most successful businesses follow this pattern:
- Experiment: Try different things
- Plateau: Growth slows
- Discovery: You discover what your business is really about
- Growth: You focus and accelerate
Most businesses never reach discovery. They stay stuck doing the same things.
Putting Your Business Strategy Into Action
- Step 1: Be Honest – Are you being better or genuinely different?
- Step 2: Find Your Real Value – Ask customers: “Why do you really buy from us?”
- Step 3: Identify the Sacred Cow – What does everyone believe is essential?
- Step 4: Make It Clear – Write your strategy in one sentence.
- Step 5: Commit Fully – Be boldly different.
How to Know Your Business Strategy Is Working
✓ Customers understand you easily
✓ People talk about you
✓ Less price fighting
✓ Decisions become clearer
✓ Growth feels sustainable
Your Business Strategy Checklist
□ Can I clearly explain what makes us different?
□ Have I decided what we’ll sacrifice?
□ Do I understand the real value we deliver?
□ Can I explain our strategy in one sentence?
□ Would competitors find it hard to copy us?
If you answered “no,” you don’t have a real business strategy yet.
Final Thoughts
Stop trying to be better. Start being different.
The market rewards different, businesses brave enough to create their own space.
That’s what business strategy means: Creating value nobody else can deliver by sacrificing what everyone else thinks is essential.
So next time you want to compete by being “better,” ask:
- What could I sacrifice to be different?
- What new space could I create?
- What game could I play where I make the rules?
That’s where your real business strategy begins.
Image Credits: Templet from PPT Infographics
For more articles on startup growth, fundraising strategies, and business insights for Indian founders, visit: Udyamee India Magazine